Generally noisy places don't work for obvious reasons, and restaurants aren't great, either, since you'll have to chat between food orders. Some places that work for other communities include:

Outdoors (hiking or sitting, weather permitting)

Indoor public atria

Reserving a room in a library, university, community center, etc.

Quiet coffee shops or bars without table service

Members' homes

Step Three // What to Do in Your Community:

Our members Stoas do a lot of different things, so there's no one fixed way to run a meeting. There are two general points that do apply to many groups, though:

Do what your members want! Ask if they prefer readings, practice groups, or something else

It helps to have a point of focus at each meeting, whether it be a topic, a type of format that you repeat, or a reading. Open formats tend to wander and feel unfocused.

Here are some ideas for topics or formats to get you started for your first several months:

Stoicism 101 - for your first meeting, give a brief talk and discussion on your understanding of Stoicism, then open it up for discussion

Read and discuss the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy's entry on Stoicism, which is a fairly easy read and a good introduction to Stoicism

Focus on readings or videos from our resources section. Don't bite off more than you and your attendees can chew, though! You can digest a book together over several months.

Euthydemus - Socrates does a good job in this dialogue explaining why Wisdom (close to virtue) is the highest good, which makes for an excellent introduction to Stoicism. The NYC Stoics have excerpted the relevant portion of the dialogue here. It's a great intro to a major concept in Stoicism

Have a "topic of the month" for discussion, where you give a brief introduction to a common problem many people may have, and talk about it from a Stoic perspective. Topics can include anger, anxiety, friendship, and more.

The Stoic Fellowship activities committee's goal is to provide guidance for meeting topics for your community, and has themes they can provide you which can guide you in running your community

If you've already started a community, join the Stoic Fellowship and we'll list your group to attract even more members, as well as provide you with guidance if needed.

Have more questions? Contact us to let us know! Or, if you've already started a community, become a member of the Stoic Fellowship, and we'll list your group to attract even more members as well as provide you with additional guidance as needed.